Winters Shadow
by marvelonmymind
Summary: Hydra had been defeated and with the help of his best friend Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes has begun to remember who he was. But after being brainwashed and used as the Winter Soldier, he's finding it difficult to relate to others. (sorry, I'm wretched at summaries!)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Finish it. 'Cause I'm with you 'til the end of the line."

Bucky Barnes emitted a strangled cry as he was jerked into reality from his nightmare—a nightmare that not a year ago had been his actuality. He pushed his hair from his forehead, his hand becoming slick with sweat. There was a timid knock on the door and a few seconds later a blonde head poke through the door.

"Another nightmare?" Bucky simply nodded as he unfolded his legs from the sheets. "You need to remember what I told you, Buck, that it—"

"It wasn't me. It wasn't my fault. Thanks Steve, but that doesn't really help. I may not have been able to control my actions, but I am stuck with the memories." _All the pain_ _and chaos that I had caused…_ he cast a glance at down at his left arm, composed entirely of metal and tried to gather his thoughts. When he looked up Steve's eyes had drifted to Bucky's unorthodox appendage as well. Bucky cleared his throat gently and Steve sighed heavily.

"It's going to get better, I'm not saying that it's going to be easy, but things will get better, and besides, HYDRA is gone." Steve gave his best friend a knowing smile. "Anyway, Stark sent me to get you he has something to show you, I guess."

Bucky groaned. He had a short temper and his fuse was practically non-existent when it came to Tony Stark. Bucky could only take so much. Steve laughed as Bucky threw on a shirt and trudged down the hall to Stark's lab.

"Ahh, there he is! Winter is coming!" Tony announced as Bucky appeared in the room, as he did every day since Steve cohered him to move into Avenger Tower. Bucky groaned again, and Tony laughed heartily at his own joke.

"Did you call me down here just with the purpose of spouting off that lame joke, or is there a reason?" Tony took awhile to regain himself and Bucky tried his hardest not to whack him off of the stool he was perched on.

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep last night, so I created this holographic anomaly to that will disguise your arm and make it look like normal flesh and blood."

Bucky brightened at Tony's words. "Are you serious?" Tony nodded, a smile of satisfaction painting his face. "Yep, so no more wearing long sleeves and gloves when we go out, Tin Man," Bucky barely registered the wisecrack about his arm. "Which is good, because you sort of looked like the Unabomber. Especially with that hair… when are you going to get a haircut?"

"When it will be ready?" Bucky asked, unable to contain the excitement in his voice.

"It's already finished," Tony's smug smile widened. "Shall we try it?" _Hell yes_, Bucky thought. Bucky positioned himself in the seat that Tony had just vacated and he began to attach wires into his arm and was tapping away furiously at a screen. He directed JARVIS to begin uploading the holographic function and Bucky got more excited by the second. Steve had been trying to get Bucky out in the world and experience the 21st century as a newly reformed Soviet assassin, but having a conspicuous metal arm had made that tough.

"Okay, let's give it a try," Tony said finally as he disconnected the mass of wires from the arm. He began to furiously tap away at a number of buttons on the screen once again and then he stared at Bucky's arm in trepidation. Bucky was beginning to think that it wouldn't work when the metallic sheen of his arm was replaced with the projected image of flesh. Bucky gaped at his left arm, slack jawed in awe.

"Am I good or am I great?" Tony said, clapping his hand on Bucky's shoulder.

"Tony, I have no idea how to thank you… I—" Bucky struggled to find appropriate words. Tony waved off his fumbling attempt. "You're welcome." Tony said with deep sincerity in his eyes, as he handed Bucky a small remote that controlled the holograph. It was moments like these when Bucky was reminded of why he liked Tony Stark. Behind the cheesy one liners, he was a genuine person. Bucky nodded and flashed him another smile before he left the room.

He was intent on finding Steve to he could proudly present his arm to him. Steve was seated at the kitchen table, with his nose buried in the newspaper, mumbling indignantly about the inflation in today's world.

"Steve!" Bucky all but shouted as he burst into the room. "Steve, look!" His jaw dropped and he slowly set the paper on the table. The look of surprise on his face slowly turned to one of confusion. "How?"

"Stark! He created this holographic function so I can disguise my real arm." Bucky flexed his arm, watching it excitedly. "I mean, it's still metal, but you know, this makes going outside a lot easier. I won't get any more questions or curious stares." _Fearful was a more apt word_.

Steve met Bucky's eyes, his excitement rising to meet Bucky's. "Bucky, this is amazing," Steve reached out, as if to touch his arm, but then he thought better of it and pulled his arm away.

"Yeah, it's nice that I can pretend that I was never a brain washed assassin that tried to kill his best friend," Bucky joked, but he saw hurt flash through Steve's eyes as he remembered. _Dammit, maybe I shouldn't joke._ Steve gathered his emotions and pasted a smile on his face.

"We should test it out; come on, let's go get breakfast."

x x x

_If I ignore it, it will go away_, Raelynn thought hopefully as she tugged her comforter over her head, a vain attempt to muffle the blaring alarm clock. It didn't work. And to add insult to injury, a high pitched mew had joined the shrieking alarm.

Rae groaned into her pillow. _Nooooo_. A fuzzy face and an equally fuzzy set of paws found their way under the blankets and the mewing intensified. "Okay, okay! I'll feed you if you shut the heck up!" Scooping up the overexcited Russian Blue kitten, Rae shut off the alarm and then padded her way down the hall to the kitchen. The tiny kitten meowed gratefully as Rae poured food into her bowl and immediately began to scarf if down.

"You're welcome, Boots." Rae let out a huge yawn as she raided the fridge for her own breakfast. After finally settling on toast, Rae made her way to the bathroom with Boots quietly in tow. "Are you going to help me get ready for work?" The cat pounced onto the countertop as and cocked her head to the side. She knocked over a tube of mascara and a palette of eyeshadow with a satisfied meow.

Rae rolled her eyes. "Thanks." She methodically got ready for her day, mentally preparing herself for the hectic atmosphere of the popular café that she worked part-time. _I can't wait to serve impatient, stingy tippers._

"Alright, Boots, I'm off to the café. Hold down the fort for me while I'm gone." Rae smiled to herself as she locked the door behind her and walked down the hall. Rae's feet aimlessly dragged her six blocks to the café.

Emilie, a waitress that worked with her greeted her with a tight smile as Rae came in the door. "Hey, Rae. The café is booming today," she threw a nod at the crowded restaurant before she rushed off with a stack of plates balanced on her arm. Rae groaned internally.

Rae went into the servers' locker room and changed into her uniform top and tied her apron around her waist as if she were preparing for battle. With her pad out and a patient smile on her lips, Rae ventured out into the dining area and addressed the first two people that we in her section.

"Hello, I'm Rae. I'm your waitress, what can I get you today?"

"Hi, Rae! I would really love some pancakes right now," the blonde man said brightly. Rae quickly made a note of it on her pad and then she diverted her attention to the blonde man's dark haired friend. "Good choice. What about you, what can I get you?" He had been staring intently at Rae the whole time, but when she met his eyes, he quickly looked away when Rae addressed him.

"Er… coffee. Coffee's fine for me." He mumbled.

"Okay! Be back with those, gentlemen." Rae smiled at both of them and then went to place their orders. She returned ten minutes later, placing down plates and a cup. "I brought you a muffin on the house, just in case you change your mind. Enjoy!" With that, she was off to attend to other tables.

x x x

Bucky slid into the booth opposite Steve and watched him excitedly explore the menu. "I want pancakes. I think that I'm going to get pancakes." Steve said happily. "They have really good pancakes."

Bucky was tempted to make a joke about how he had missed pancakes during his stint as a brainwashed hired gun, but he thought better of it.

Steve laid down the menu. "So has Natasha still been harassing you?" Bucky nodded and Steve chuckled. "Yeah, she was pestering me about asking a girl out for awhile. Finally, I asked Sharon out."

"Your neighbor that turned out to be a SHIELD agent that also happened to be Peggy Carter's niece?"

"Yeah, that's her."

"Mm." Bucky ran his finger along his left arm. _I'm pretty sure that no one can handle this arm, or the baggage that comes with it_. He was about to change the subject when he was interrupted by a slightly accented voice.

"Hello, I'm Rae. I'm your waitress, what can I get you today?" Bucky made the mistake of looking at her. _Whoa_. He didn't even realize that he had been staring at her dark red hair and amber brown eyes. _Am I staring? Shit, I think I'm staring. Stop staring! _He wrenched his gaze from the waitresses' bright red hair and he became captivated by the fiberglass table. _Wait, didn't she ask me a question?__ Oh, crap. What do you want, Bucky? Answer!_

"Er, coffee. Coffee's fine for me." Bucky managed to spill out, avoiding her eyes. He didn't look up until Rae had vanished from the table. _Handled that well_, he thought.

"Well, that was painful to watch," Steve said after a second.

"Shut up."

"Wow, Buck. You're off your game." Steve stifled his laughter. "She was pretty though." He said as he wiggled his eyebrows.

"Oh, god. You sound just like Natasha." Bucky attempted to look casual as he looked out of the window.

"Sorry, sorry, I know that you have other things on your mind. I'll stop and I'll tell Nat to as well."

"Thanks." Bucky mumbled. _She_ _was really pretty though. If I was my old self, I'd have flirted with her easily. But I'm not my old self... This stupid arm ruins everything._

He was jerked out of his bout of self loathing when a blueberry muffin was thrust in front of him. "I brought you a muffin, just in case you change your mind." And then she disappeared after placing Steve's pancakes in front of him.

"She brought you a muffin."

"Shut up." Bucky repeated, but he smiled in spite of himself.

x x x

"Seriously though, you should ask her out." Steve said as they returned to Avengers Tower.

"He should ask who out? Cara from Logistics?" Natasha Romanoff's voice came from the couch.

"No, this waitress lady from the café down the street."

"The one with the dark red hair and Romanian accent? Ohhh…" Natasha wiggled her eyebrows.

_Seriously, what was with these people?_ "How did you know that?"

"Really? I'm a spy. I know everything, Barnes."

"Ugh, I'm going to my room." Once in the quiet confines of his room, Bucky sat on his bed_. Maybe I should ask her out_… he looked down at his arm. _Or not._

x x x

Rae happily shoved her uniform back into her locker and changed her shirt. After a long day of being on her feet serving people food, she just wanted to lie in bed with her cat and read.

"You have the late shift tomorrow, right?" Emilie questioned as she popped into the room.

"Yes, I have classes tomorrow." Rae groaned as she realized that she still had a paper that she had yet to finish. _Well, looks like I'm pulling an all nighter._

"Too bad, you might not get to see that cute guy that was staring at you this morning."

"Oh, the one that came in with the blonde guy that looks an awful lot like Captain America? Yeah, he was cute," Rae giggled at how flustered he seemed to get whenever she said something to him.

"I think that he has a crush on you. You should have seen the way that he stared at you, girl." Emilie shut her locker door. "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow girl." She wiggled her fingers at Rae as she walked out the door.

Rae laughed again at Emilie's declaration. It was pretty flattering to think that some shaggy stranger had a crush on her, but really, flirting with customers was part of her job description. It had worked too; she'd gotten a pretty generous tip from the duo. She walked home, her mind a haze of random cute boys and the dread of writing papers.

Boots lovingly greeted her as she opened the door, immediately rubbing herself against her leg. The kitten let out a sharp mew as Rae picked it up. "I know, I know, hold on a minute, will you?" After feeding the impatient animal as fast as she could, she set about to procrastinating by emerging herself into a much deserved bubble bath.

She had planned to stay in the bathtub forever, but that proved to be impossible when you were in the possession of a nine month old kitten. Boots was frantically meowing and wildly jabbing her paws underneath the door. _Sigh_…

"Stop worrying," Rae said, opening the door. "I'm alive, although I probably won't be after I finish working on this paper." Rae sat down at her desk and began to work on her paper, her lids growing heavier with each word that she typed. So sleepy… let me just close my eyes for two minutes…

Two minutes elapsed into two hours and eventually Rae didn't open her eyes again well into the next morning.

"Shit!" Rae sat upright in her chair, knocking over various papers in the process. "Shit!" Rae uttered again as she dared to glance at the clock. She was fifteen minutes late for her first class and she hadn't gotten anywhere with her paper. _Great_. Haphazardly tugging on a pair of jeans and pulling on the biggest hoodie that she could find over her head, she frantically collected her books and laptop and ran out the door, barely remembering to feed Boots on her way out the door. Well, today's going to be an interesting day.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Sorry it took me forever to post this; life got a tad hectic. And, I know that the story is fairly... terrible right now, but I swear it will get better haha. Thanks! :)_

Chapter Two

Bucky left his room cautiously, making sure that the coast was clear. When he saw that there was no one in sight he made his way swiftly to the elevator. "Where are you going?" Natasha said as she sat up on the couch, a bag of pretzels in her hand.

_Shit_, _she's everywhere_. "Nowhere, just out. Why do you care, Natasha?" Bucky tried to keep his annoyance in check.

"Uh-huh. You're going back to the café, aren't you Barnes?" She popped a pretzel in her mouth and smirked at him.

"What? No, I'm going on a… walk. I'm going for a walk, Romanova."

"Okay, well then I guess you won't care that I did a little research on your crush and she's a senior at NYU. She had classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so she works the late shift, at nine."

Bucky shifted. Oh. "No, I didn't care; you're right." He headed back to his room. "Then where are you going? Weren't you going for a walk?"

Ugh. Why did it always seem that Natasha could never let anything go? _Just like the time that she almost cut my head off_ _and then proceeded to electrocute me, all because I was trying to kill her_. "I forgot my… hat." Bucky finished lamely as he left the room and retreated back to his room and Natasha smirked at his receding form.

He returned a minute later waving his baseball cap violently in Natasha's face. "Found it."

"Uh-huh. Have a nice walk." She rolled her eyes and laid back down on the couch.

"I will." Bucky strode out of the door defiantly. _Well, it looks like I'm actually going to have to go on a walk now._

x x x

Rae walked into the café, feeling absolutely rundown and defeated_. It's nine o'clock and all I want to do is lie on my bed, shove Doritos in my face and watch television with my cat, but instead I'm working. Great._

Rae tried her best to give herself a pep talk as she cinched the ties of her apron. She failed, miserably_. Whatever. I can do this._

"Hey there, what can I – oh! It's you again!" Rae admonished herself as she blurted out her surprise; once she recognized the person in the booth_. He did come back_; she thought, a little smile crossing her face.

"Where's your blonde friend? Wait, that's not what I meant, I meant 'hello, what can I get you today?'"

The gruff gentleman laughed quietly. "He's not with me today."

"Oh, I guess you wanted to see me again that badly, huh?" She winked at him and he blushed. "Anyway, what can I get you today, sailor?"

"Uh… Coffee?"

She smirked. "Okay." She left to get a pot of decaf from the kitchen and quickly returned to his booth. "Do you actually eat, or do you just sit around and look like a kicked puppy all the time?" Rae asked as she filled his cup.

He smiled softly before he replied, "Sometimes. But looking like a kicked puppy is my specialty."

"You're good at it, I will admit." Rae paused for a beat. _Do it, woman! _"What's your name, sailor? "

"It's Bucky."

"What? Seriously?"

"Uhm, yes? Well, my first name is James, but people call me Bucky."

"How do you get Bucky from James? Usually nicknames kind of match the name. You know, like Rae or Lynn for Raelynn."

"My middle name is Buchanan."

"Wow, really? Like the president?" He nodded. "Yeah, I'm just gonna call you James." Rae smirked again. "Alright, James, I need to go do my job before I get fired. Let me know if you need anything else, you know like, food."

Even though Rae tried her best to focus on serving other patrons, she wound up sneaking glances at James from time to time, finding that he was already looking at her a few times.

x x x

Bucky was beside himself. _I actually talked to her_, he thought excitedly. _Yes_! For a split second, he wasn't stuck on the fact that he was missing an arm, and that he used to kill people for a living. Both before and after Hydra got a hold of him. He sighed. _Steve's right, I need to realize that I am not at fault here. I need to move on, and I'm going to start by asking Raelynn out_, he had decided.

"More coffee?" Rae asked James as she precariously balanced several cups on top of a stack of plates.

"Yes, please," James answered, looking as if she had pulled him from some deep reverie.

"Alright, I'll be right back." As Rae turned to leave, a cup slid from its perch on the plate and tumbled to the ground before she could make a move. _Damn it_. She braced herself for the shatter, which never came.

"You dropped this." James held out his left hand, which was clutching the cup. "Here you go."

"Thank you! Nice reflexes, Spider-Man."

He gave her a small smile. "Anytime." Rae began to leave the booth once again, but James cleared his throat to stop her.

"Uh… uhm… when do you get off of your shift? I thought that I could, you know, walk you home. I mean, you don't have to if that makes you feel uncomfortable. God, that didn't sound as creepy in my head, I'm sorry never mind."

Rae snorted as he got flushed and looked away. "I get off in thirty minutes."

Thirty minutes had never seemed more like an eternity to Bucky. Finally, time dragged by and Rae appeared at Bucky's table, coat on, with her bag in hand. She nodded toward the door. "Let's roll, sailor."

Bucky's exuberant mood quickly turned to sheer terror when he realized that he actually had to speak to her. Terror turned to full blown anxiety when he realized that he had absolutely no clue what the hell to say. There was a timid tap on his shoulder.

"What?" Bucky blurted out.

"I asked you what your story was. I've never seen you around the café before. I've seen your friend before, but never you." Rae looked at him expectantly.

"Oh, well, I've only been here for a few months and I don't get out much."

"So, you're from out of town?"

"Well, yes and no. I'm from Indiana originally but I lived in New York for awhile as a kid. I was, um, overseas for… work." He pleaded silently that she wouldn't ask him what type of work.

"Oh, very interesting. I'm from Romania."

Bucky had to practically bite his tongue to keep himself from telling her that he already knew that information, thanks to Natasha.

"When did you get here?"

"When I was thirteen."

Bucky paused. "How old are you now?"

"I just turned twenty-five this past September. How old are you?"

_Well, I can't very well tell her that I was alive during the second World War, now can I?_ "Twenty-six."

She nodded. "Cool. Well, this is my apartment building," she said as she jerked her thumb toward a modest looking walk-up. "Thank you for escorting me home. And they say that chivalry is dead." She giggled and Bucky decided that it was his new favorite sound in the world.

"So, have a good night James."

Bucky paused before he answered trying to find the courage to make his mouth work. Finally, he just gave up and bade her good night. "Good night, Raelynn." She smiled before she vanished into the building.

_Ugh, why am I such a coward? She totally gave me an opening and I chickened out._

Bucky made his way from the building, silently reproving himself when the sound of running footsteps caught his attention.

"James, wait!" Rae gasped from behind him as she finally caught up to him, out of breath and flushed. "God, I'm out of shape. Anyway, the reason why I chased you down was because I was going to ask you out. You obviously weren't going to." She winked at him before she continued. "I was gonna ask you if you wanted to come over and I could attempt to cook or whatever, I don't know."

Bucky stared at her_. I am pretty sure that I am dreaming._

"Please say something, I just ran a block to ask you out. That's the first time I have ran since high school."

"S-sorry. Yes, of course."

"Really? Yay! Okay, so uhm, how's Saturday? At six o'clock?"

"Definitely." He could barely contain the huge smile that broke out across his face.

"Cool. Good night, again." She gave him a little wave before she headed off in the opposite direction. Bucky watched her walk away, giant grin still plastered on his face. _Good job, Barnes, you've got a date._

x x x

Bucky's face was still decorated with a smile when he stepped off of the elevator into the living room of the living quarters in Avengers Tower.

"Bucky!" Steve hopped off from the floor easily, abandoning the game that he, Clint, Natasha and Sam were playing. "Where were you?"

"Out. I went for a walk." He and Natasha shot each other pointed looks at each other. "A really long walk, more of an adventure really." He was about to retreat into his room, but he decided that he wanted to brag a little. "Also, I have a date on Saturday."

"Whaaaaaaat?" Clint, Natasha and Sam said at once and Steve's jaw dropped so far he feared it would fall right off. _That surprising, huh?_

"The Romanian waitress?" Clint asked, and Natasha looked at him, already knowing his answer.

"Yep." Bucky's smile returned.

"Good job, Barnes," Sam leaned over the back of the couch and held out his hand for a high five. "Thanks, Sam."

Natasha winked at Bucky. "Good luck." She got off the couch and started towards her room. "I'm going to bed, unless you guys still want me to keep kicking your asses at Mario Kart." She threw over her shoulder, with Clint in tow.

Steve followed Bucky into his room. "This is so exciting, Buck! I'm so glad you've finally taken my advice. Finally getting back into the world. See, I told you that it wouldn't be so hard to ask her out."

"Uh. She asked me out."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Well, you know, things are different nowadays."

Bucky scoffed at Steve. "Understatement of the year."

"I know. Anyways, congrats." He turned to leave, but paused as a look of remembrance flashed across his face. "Oh, and Fury wants to see us tomorrow morning. Good night Buck."

"Night, Steve." Bucky sat on his bed, still giddy over the fact that he had a date in three days. Now, all I have to do is make sure that she doesn't find out that I am partially made of metal. That shouldn't be too difficult.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I got bored at work so I decided to post the third chapter (this is where it starts to get slightly less terrible! yay lol!). Thanks to everyone that followed/favourited this! :) Reviews are always welcomed!**

Chapter Three

Rae was frantically rushing around her house, trying to make sure that everything was neat and in its place, as Boots stared at her lazily from her perch on the couch.

"Thanks a lot for your help. There's going to be a man in our apartment—a very cute man by the way, and I don't want him to know how unorganized I am. Well, not yet at least." Boots continued staring and Rae rolled her eyes.

Rae was in the midst of moving a bunch of textbooks and discarded papers from the living room to her bedroom when it dawned on her that she had neglected to decide what to make for dinner.

"Shit!"

x x x

Bucky paced, nervously yanking his hand through his hair while Tony and Steve watched.

"I think he's going to self destruct," Tony whispered to Steve and Steve muffled a laugh.

"I don't think I can do this. What am I going to talk about? 'Hey, Raelynn guess what? I'm a veteran of World War II? My best friend is a ninety year old super soldier? Wanna see me detach my metal arm!?'" Bucky sat on the couch and hid his face in his hands.

"Don't worry. You should just show her your arm and if she doesn't run away screaming, then she's a keeper." Tony said, and Bucky shot him a murderous look. Tony threw up his hands defensively. "Joke. I was joking. I do that sometimes." He moved closer to Bucky. "Stop being so melodramatic, it's going to be fine, alright? She's the one that asked you out, right?" Bucky gave a slight nod. "See? You have nothing to worry about, obviously she has low standards and isn't expecting much. Seriously man, haircut. Get one."

Bucky leapt off the couch with a frustrated groan. "Natasha!" He yelled as he roamed the hall in search of her.

"In the gym," came her voice, slightly out of breath. "Clint, stop moving the damn bag!" Bucky entered the gym to find Nat kicking the crap out of a punching bag that Clint held in position for her.

"Sorry, Tasha, but it's a little unnerving when your legs are so close to my body." Clint winced as a roundhouse kick Natasha executed landed squarely on the bag near his torso.

"What is it Barnes?" she asked, her focus solely on beating up the inanimate object.

"Oh, well… Tonight's my date with Rae and I'm a little nervous and—"

"Awwwww," Natasha said as she delivered a series of rapid fire punches to the bag, Clint looking slightly terrified.

"…Yeah. So, I was wondering if you had any tips or whatever." Bucky scratched his head casually, refusing to look at Natasha. After delivering a final knee to the bag, Natasha began to unravel her gloves, and Clint look relieved. "I could totally pull some files on her, if you want me to?"

"What? No… well… no, no. Just…" Bucky sighed. "It's been awhile for me, alright? I've seemed to have lost my touch with the ladies."

Natasha snorted. "It's really not that hard, Barnes, so stop over thinking it. Listen to her, ask questions, just be interested in who she is and her life. Also, remember to complement her. Tell her that her hair is nice or what's she's wearing is nice."

"Ooh! You should buy her flowers." Clint added, looking proud of himself and Natasha beamed up at him.

"Thanks you guys," Bucky was starting to feel less anxious about his date.

"And comb your hair back; you look like a sad hobo." Clint added as Bucky left the two of them in the gym. Bucky heard a slapping sound and Clint uttering "ow!" as Natasha admonished him in Russian. Well, he's not completely wrong, he thought.

His next mission was to find the appropriate clothes to wear.

x x x

Rae stared happily at her labor—she had managed, with the help of her neighbor, to create the best looking beef stir fry that she had ever seen. _I'm so fucking proud of myself, _she thought as she bobbed her way into the bathroom to figure out how to wrangle her hair and make it somewhat suitable. In the midst of dragging her a brush through her tangled curls, she heard a timid knock on the door. _Oh my god, it's happening. What do I do!? Don't panic, don't panic._

She took a deep breath and held it before she opened the door. James was standing behind it, and odd mixture of terror and relief on his face.

"Hey you!"

"Hey. Hello. I brought you flowers." He thrust a bouquet of red roses into her hands.

"Aw, thanks James," she replied, although she wasn't a big fan of flowers. _It's the thought that counts, right? _"Stop standing there so awkwardly," she waved him in.

James laughed nervously as he walked into the apartment. "Sorry." Boots immediately leapt off of the couch and made her way over to him, winding through his legs with a pleased mew.

"She likes you," Rae said as she placed the bouquet into a vase of water. James laughed again as the tiny kitten pawed at his calf.

Rae returned, vase in her hand and saw that James had bent at the waist and was gently scratching the kitten behind the ears. "I'm glad to see that you've made a friend." She put the vase in the center of the dining room table. "I really hope that you like beef stir fry, 'cause if you don't your shit out of luck."

x x x

"Can I ask you something?" Rae nodded and Bucky continued. "Why did your parents decide to come to America?"

"Well, my mother wanted to start her own practice; she was a psychologist. And my father came to America once when he was a child and he always wanted to come back, so... here I am."

They'd finished dinner and wound up on the couch, the other occupying the opposite end of the couch respectively.

Bucky hadn't failed to miss the past tense. "What do you mean that your mother was a psychologist?"

"Oh. My parents died when I was in sixteen. Car accident." Bucky winced as his mind replayed images of the Winter Soldier; the time that he killed a husband and wife, loving parents, staging it so that it looked like a car accident… it just so happened that those people just so happened to be the loving parents of Tony Stark.

"Oh, god… I'm really sorry."

Rae waved her hand. "No, it's totally fine, I mean, you didn't know, right? It's okay."

"Still, I'm very sorry."

"James, really, it's okay. It's not like it was your fault or anything." She laughed, and he copied the sound, although his mind was still on his misdeeds.

"I'm going to change the subject, okay? You're a student at NYU, right? What do you study?"

She brightened immediately, and James felt a twinge of pride. "Psychology. I'm following in my mother's footsteps. I'm thinking about going into criminal psychology, or maybe counseling. I love— wait. How did you know that I'm a student as NYU?"

_Oh god. Shit!_ Bucky looked around frantically hoping to find a savior planted somewhere in the room. Thankfully, his eyes found solace. "Your student id." He picked up the laminated card and waved it. "Cute picture, by the way."

Rae snatched the card away from his hand. "Shut up! I hadn't slept the night before and I was too out of it to put on makeup."

"No, I'm serious. It's a good look for you; the whole sleepy drug addict look."

"Just like the whole sad puppy dog eyes look works for you."

"Thanks."

"Mhm. Anytime."

Bucky noticed that he was sitting closer to Raelynn than he had been before. _Well, that's interesting. _

"So, I told you something about my life, I wanna know something about you."

"Like what?"

"Well, you mentioned that you were out of the country right? Why?"

"I was in the military." _Decades ago_, Bucky thought. Still, it was true.

"Oh, so that explains the sad puppy dog eyes, gotcha."

Bucky nodded, staring down at his hands. "Yeah, when I was over there fighting for my country and everything that it stands for, I never noticed how much of a puppet I was; just a weapon of destruction, perpetrating violence in the essence of a greater good, when in reality you're just a glorified hitman. They tell you things like it wasn't your fault, that you had orders to follow, yet…" Bucky had lost sight of whether he was talking about his military service or The Winter Soldier. His mind was far away, decades in the past. Once he finally returned to the present, Rae's hand had found Bucky's face, gently wiping away a tear that he hadn't even realized had fallen.

"James, I am sorry. I'm really sorry."

He nodded. "It's fine, really. Thank you, though."

"Yeah, of course." She started to slip her hand away, but Bucky set his hand on top of hers. _Now would be the perfect time to kiss her, you know_, he thought. His brain tried to tell his lips to move, but he sat there frozen. Unexpectedly, Rae's lips brushed across his. _Well, that works, too._

Rae gripped the front of his shirt tightly, and he so badly wanted to entwine his hands into her hair, but he thought better of it.

"That was my first kiss in awhile," he blurted out stupidly as they broke apart from one another. _Dumbass_. He had to restrain from punching himself in the face.

"Yeah, same here don't worry." She laughed and Bucky was captivated with the way her face lit up. She began to add something when she was cut off by a lengthy yawn that she tried to unsuccessfully stifle. "Oh, god, I am so sorry! I promise that you're not boring me, I've just had a really long day of smiling, papers and beef stir fry." She chuckled.

"I understand. I should go anyway; I don't want to overstay my welcome." He rose off the couch and slipped on his jacket as he headed toward the door. "But I had fun. A lot of fun, actually."

"So did I."

Bucky opened the door, but closed it and turned back to Raelynn. "I want to see you again." He looked at her intently and she smirked as she flushed slightly. _There we go, that's the vintage Bucky that I remember._

"Yes, I'd like that." She looked away shyly, an errant lock of her hair slipping onto her forehead. "I'm pretty busy with midterms and such, but I want to see you again as well."

"Good. I'll see you later. Good night."

As soon as James walked out the door, Rae burst into an excited little happy dance, giggling her way to the dining room to clear the table, while Boots cocked her head to the side in curiosity. "Don't judge me; I'm swooning."

x x x

Bucky was beyond ecstatic when he walked back into the Avengers Tower and found Steve waiting for him on the couch.

"Dad, you really didn't have to wait up for me." He plopped onto the couch next to Steve. "I know you want to ask me, so just do it."

"How'd it go?"

Bucky shrugged, trying to seem casual, but Steve just stared at him. "Amazing. So amazing." He stared at the ceiling dreamily. "She smells amazing. Her lips are amazing. Everything about her is amazing. When I was with her I felt… normal. Myself again."

Steve watched his friend with a serene smile. "I'm really glad, Buck."

"Yeah, but the thing is, how do I tell her about…" he made a sweeping motion to his arm and Steve sighed. "I don't know, that's something that you need to figure out. But you need to tell her the truth."

Bucky groaned and sunk deeper into the couch. Steve patted his arm before he slid off the couch and made his way down the hall. "It'll be okay. Good night, Buck."

Bucky groaned again. _I really hope that you're right about this, Steve._


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey you guys! Thanks for sticking with me and my story, I can't thank you guys enough! 3 It's harder than I thought it would be to write Bucky... He's a ball of angst and confusion lol. Anyway, here's chapter four... Maybe there's some smut...? Oooooh**...** ;)**

Chapter Four

Rae glared at her hair in the mirror as she attempted to comb a product that boasted "frizz free hair!" through the mass of curls. _What a bunch of lies_, she thought impatiently. She was being more meticulous about her hair than usual; a friend of James' was having a New Years Eve party and she was avid that he brought Raelynn along as well. She wanted to make sure that she actually looked put together. She didn't want James' friends to mistake her for a homeless person.

"He tells his friends about me," Rae said out loud to Boots, pausing running the flat iron through her hair to scratch Boots behind the ears, eliciting a satisfied mew from the cat.

It had been about two months since they had last seen each other, and while Raelynn was busy with finals and work, James came to the café almost every day (bringing her a bouquet of roses each time—she was beginning to grow fond of flowers).

_I really wish that I was in a pair of yoga pants instead of this stupid dress. _When Rae mentioned in passing that she was going to a party with James, Emilie took it upon herself to drag Rae to some fancy store and make Raelynn try on multiple dresses until she was finally satisfied.

"This one. This is the one. Your boyfriend is gonna lose his shit. Damn, girl, I think I'm a little gay for you right now." Emilie had gasped out when Rae begrudgingly stepped out of the dressing room, decorated in a short navy blue dress.

"Are you sure? It's kind of missing the back. I like my clothes to have a back." She twirled in the mirror, checking herself out from all angles. "Hm, although… I really do look amazing."

"Seriously, I'm a little gay for you in that dress. Buy it. Now."

She silently thanked Emile for forcing her to go shopping as she swiped on wine tinted lipstick. _I think that Emilie was right; James is going to lose his shit._

Rae panicked slightly as there was a knock on the door. _Be cool, Rae. No reason to be anxious, his friends are going to love you and everything is going to be peachy. _

She glanced in the mirror to make sure that everything was in its place and that her makeup was immaculate and then dashed to the door.

James' jaw dropped slightly when she opened the door and Rae felt a rush of satisfaction. _Nailed it._ "Wow. You look… wow." He looked her up and down slowly and Rae felt her face flush slightly.

"You don't look to bad yourself—wait, what happened to your hair?" She gasped and his hand flew to his head.

"What? You don't like it?"

"No, I like it, but I liked your hair long as well." She feathered her hands through his new haircut. "But it's nice short, I can see your face. And I don't like it when my boyfriends have longer hair than me." She smirked as she threw on her jacket. "Let's roll, handsome."

x x x

Bucky stared down at Raelynn's hand tightly enfolded within his (his right hand, he had made sure to always to offer her his right hand), feeling conflicted.

After weeks of procrastination, Bucky decided that he was finally going to tell Raelynn the truth about his past, but he was terrified. _How am I even going to tell her? "Hey guess what, I'm a bionic assassin?" How will she even react? I can't bear to see her looking at me in disgust and horror…_

"Hey, what's going on in there?" She poked his bicep. "You look like you're going to throw up."

"Sorry, I'm just sort of nervous."

"Why are you nervous? I'm the one that should be nervous."

"Well, my friends are an eclectic group and I'm just hoping that everyone behaves their selves and doesn't embarrass me. I've worked hard to make you think that I'm cool."

"Trust me, you're not that cool."

"Liar."

"Mm, maybe just a little bit." Raelynn looked up at the building that they were headed towards. "Wait a minute, this is Avengers Tower, isn't it? Are you an Avenger?"

Bucky paused. "By association, I guess." He pulled Raelynn into the building after swiping his security pass and after entering a code and swiping his pass again; he pulled her into the elevator. As the elevator ascended to the top floor of the building, Raelynn squealed with excitement and Bucky watched her, amused.

The doors popped open and James automatically held out his right hand and Raelynn immediately wove her fingers through his.

"Bucky!" Steve made his way over to him, with Sharon Carter close behind him.

"I knew that was Captain America," Raelynn mumbled to herself and Bucky grinned.

"So, this is Raelynn?" Steve asked once he reached the pair.

"Yes, this is my girlfriend," Bucky tried unsuccessfully to keep himself from grinning like an idiot when he said the word "girlfriend". _Compose yourself, Barnes._ "Raelynn, this is Steve and Sharon."

"I remember you from the café! You're Captain America!" Steve paused for a second and Raelynn pressed her fingers to her mouth as if she was trying to make sure that she didn't blurt anything else out.

"Sorry, whoops. I meant, 'hello, it's splendid to meet you.'"

Both Sharon and Steve laughed loudly and Bucky slipped his arm around her shoulders, laughing internally at how she was unable to control herself when she was excited.

"So, this is the infamous Raelynn? She's adorable, Barnes," Natasha said as she made her way over to the group. Bucky shot her a warning look, which she deftly ignored. She held her hand out to Raelynn.

"I'm Natasha Romanoff. I'm glad I get to finally meet you. Bucky is always gushing about you. I can see why."

Raelynn shook Natahsa's hand heartily. "I'm so sorry that you had to endure that. Yes, I'm Raelynn Văduva. It's great to meet you as well."

"Văduva? That's Romanian for 'widow' correct?"

She looked surprised. "Yes, that's exactly correct."

Natasha winked at Bucky. "I like her even more." Bucky pulled Raelynn away before she could begin to ask about Natasha's statement.

"I like her, she's very pretty. But in a dangerous sort of way." She said when he pulled her into the kitchen.

"She tried to decapitate me when we first met."

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing. I need a drink, do you want a drink?" Raelynn waved her hands. She began giggling as he took a sip of champagne. "Are you laughing at me?"

"No, of course not… Barnes." She did her best imitation of Natasha's throaty voice and continued giggling.

"You are laughing at me! Stop it!" Bucky laughed in spite of himself, ruining the wounded look her tried to give her and she began to laugh in earnest.

"It's just that you're so nervous, even more so than me. You're kind of cute when you're nervous," She began giggling once again.

"If you don't stop laughing at me, I'll have to make you."

"I'd like to see you try, Barnes."

Bucky set his glass down and in one swift motion, her wrapped his arm around her waist and pinned her against the wall. He brought his lips inches away from her ear, making her react in such a delicious manner. "Maybe I should prove it to you, Rae." He placed his lips against her skin and she gripped the collar of his shirt tightly.

"Well, this is inappropriate." Bucky groaned as Tony Stark's voice greeted them from the hall. He took a deep breath and composed himself.

"Raelynn, this is To—"

"Tony Stark. I also answer to Iron Man. I'm guessing that you're Winter's girlfriend?"

"Winter?"

"It's just this dumb name that Tony has for me."

"Oh. But, yes, I'm the girlfriend." She said proudly.

"Good job, Barnes. I'm surprised, I thought that you were going to lie in your room and be angsty for the rest of your life. I like your haircut by the way."

"Thanks." Bucky mumbled.

"It was lovely to meet you," Tony said, pressing a kiss to Raelynn's hand, causing Bucky to glare at him, and then he excused himself.

"Wow, Tony Stark… he's kind of the douchebag that I imagined he'd be, but a nice kind of douchebag." Bucky chuckled; it was the best and nicest descripition he'd heard of Tony lately.

"Come on, there's more people I want you to meet."

x x x

Bucky was so wrapped up in watching Raelynn as she was deep in conversation with Sam and Clint, that he didn't even notice Natasha siddle up to him. "You really need to tell Raelynn about… everything."

"I can't. I know that if I do tell her, she'll look at me with disgust and never want to be around me again. I can't bear for that to happen."

"I've seen the way she looks at you, there's no way that you'll lose her Barnes, but it'a a risk that you need to take. And if she does break your heart, I'll kill her." She flashed him a smile before she joined Clint's side.

_Natasha's right, I need to just get this over with… Even though I really don't want to…_

"You were making angsty puppy dog eyes over here all alone. What's wrong, sailor?" When she laid her hand against his chest he made up his mind.

"I have something that I need to show you, Lynnie." He grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the party and into his room. He shut the door behind him and he stared at her, trying to find the right words to say.

"Okay, James, you are freaking me out. What's wrong, did I do something?" She sat on the bed and looked at him, her eyes worried.

"No, it's not you." Bucky paced back and forth in front of the bed, his mind reeling. "Okay. Okay, I have something that I need to tell you, that I should have told you from day one, but you have no idea how terrified I was… Still am," he corrected. He paused and took Raelynn's hand, kneeling in front of her.

"Lynnie, you asked me if I was an Avenger, and the answer is no. The Avengers are heroes, the help people and I'm… I'm the opposite. I'm a villian." He dropped her hand, trying to mentally ready himself for the moment when he saw the revulsion in her amber eyes. He reached inside of his jacket and pulled out the small remote that Tony had given to him. He took in a deep shuddering breath before he rolled up his sleeve and pressed the button. The hologram flickered off and all that was left was his metal arm.

"This is who I really am."

She was silent for a moment, which to Bucky felt like hours. Finally, she spoke in a low voice: "Oh… So, that's why your always so adamant that I'm on your right side."

"You noticed that?"

"A little bit, yeah." She reached for his hands, but Bucky pulled away. "There's more to the story." Bucky began to pace again as he cleared his throat anxiously.

"In a past life I was known as the Winter Soldier. I was captured by a terrorist group known as Hydra and brainwashed, used in countless missions. I killed a lot of people and I wrecked a lot of lives as well. In this building alone, I've killed Tony's parents, I shot Natasha twice, and I tried to kill Steve. Oh, and I pulled the steering wheel out of Sam's car, but we agreed that it was kind of cool.

"Anyway, the point is that I'm not a good man. I'm a murderer and I don't deserve to be around you; these hands don't deserve to hold you." He stopped pacing and he dared to shoot a glance at Raelynn, who looked bewildered.

"How the hell did you pull his steering wheel out of his car?"

"Seriously? Lynn, that's what you took away from this?"

"Sorry, sorry, it's just that all I heard was that you were used against your will and used, James. That's not your fault." Rae stood up and closed the distance between them. She took his face between her hands, her thumb stroking his jaw. "James, do not blame yourself for the sins of other. Do not blame yourself for what you had no control of. You are not that victim; you are the victim of the atrocities that were forced on you, okay?"

"God, you're smart. You're going to be a damn good psychologist."

She chuckled. "I know."

Bucky sighed. "But still, you have no idea what it's like to have everything that makes you who you are ripped away. To have your mind stripped away and used as a puppet. I can't go back to who I was before."

"You're right, you can't go back to who you were before. That's always going to stick with you, but you can forgive yourself and move on."

"You know, it's hard to be so angsty when you're being so wise."

She rolled her eyes. "Sorry. So, that stuff about you being a soldier, is this what you meant?"

"Well, somewhat. I was actually in the Army… some time ago."

"You're not twenty-six, are you?"

"Not anymore, no. But I look great for my age, right?"

"I do like my men older. Older and former assassins."

Bucky laughed and let out a sigh of relief. _This went vastly better than I had hoped._ "Do you want to go back to the party?"

"Well, we could, but I believe you said that you had something that you wanted to prove to me…" she arched her eyebrow as he ran her thumb across Bucky's bottom lip, amber eyes focused on his.

_Oh, that..._

Raelynn giggled quietly as Bucky wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her onto his lap. His left hand gripped Raelynn's hip tightly as he wound his right hand into her hair. Raelynn captured his bottom lip between her teeth and tugged slightly as her hands deftly began to unbutton his shirt, impatiently untucking it from his trousers. Bucky's hands responded in kind, slowly unzipping Raelynn's dress, never breaking eye contact with her as he did so.

Rae squealed as Bucky laid his palm against the small of her back. "What?"

"Your hand is cold," she said through a fit of laughter.

"Oh. Sorry." He started to pull his hand away, only for Raelynn to place it back against her skin.

"No, it's okay, I don't mind."

"Hm. I had no idea that you were so kinky." Raelynn swatted his arm as he smiled against her neck, reveling at the feel of skin against his lips. _The sound of my happiness lies in those small sighs of pleasure, _he decided.

He rolled her onto her back, straddling her hips, interlocking his hands with hers. He looked down as he had never seen anything so bizarre.

He trailed his hand up her thigh, tracing patterns against her skin while he watched the reactions playing across her face. Realization hit him hard as he focused on Raelynn's response to his touch that he was in love with her, and that shook him. He battled for control of his emotions, losing out eventually. _I can't do this. What if I...?_ He trailed off, not allowing his mind to think the atrocities he was capable of, the possibility that he could hurt her. _I can't keep hurting people I love. _

Raelynn laid her hand on his chest delicately. "James, what's wrong? Did I do something?"

He laughed humorlessly. "Definitely not." He turned onto his side, facing her. "I'm just afraid. I can't do this. Not like that, don't get me wrong, I want to, but..." He trailed off in frustration.

"It's okay. I trust that you wouldn't hurt me. You just need to trust yourself as well."

"I don't think I know how." He captured her hand and placed it back onto his chest, directly over his heart. He held her close as he inhaled the scent of her shampoo and the intoxicating sweetness of her skin, finding that it calmed him immensely. He sighed heavily. "I'm sorry."

"No, don't be sorry. I understand that you need some time. Just tell me what you need me to do."

He thought for a moment before sighing again. " I don't know." He laid his head against Raelynn's chest and listened to her heartbeat and she ran her fingers through his hair.

"That's okay, too. I just want you to know that I'm here for you." Bucky heard the patience in her voice and he marveled once again at how lucky he was that she had came into his life.

Her hand left his hair and she began to run her fingers over the area where the metal of his arm met his shoulder. "What do you remember?"

He set his jaw as he brought up the memories of the Winter Soldier. "Falling. Thinking I was dead and then wishing that I actually was dead. I remember a lot of confusion and anger, and then just being lost in obscurity."

She continued to caress his arm as they laid together in silence. Bucky listened to her breathing as it grew soft and shallow.

There was a raucous din from the living room and after glancing at the clock, he discerned that his friends were celebrating the New Year. Bucky pulled the covers over himself and Raelynn, pulling her close.

"Happy New Year, Lynnie," he murmured softly as he tucked his face into her hair. For the first time in a long while, he was able to shut his mind off and fall asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey everybody! Thanks again for reading this; it really does mean the world to me :) I want to hug all of you and bake you cookies lol. Anyhoo, things get a tad bit… interesting in this chapter (and as always, reviews are always welcomed; don't be shy!)**

Chapter Five

Rae was acutely aware of something cold wrapped around her waist. _What in the…? _She popped an eyelid open cautiously and saw James' face inches away from hers. His face was peaceful and innocent as he snored softly. It took every ounce of self control that Raelynn had to refrain from reaching out and grazing a finger against his stubble or touching his lips.

There was a commotion outside of the door and then the quiet clamor of voices.

"Tony, be quiet. You know that they're still sleeping." She was pretty sure that voice belonged to Sam.

"Still? That's amazing, what did they do last night?" That was definitely Tony Stark. She rolled her eyes as she disentangled herself from James and tossed on his discarded shirt. She tiptoed to the door and slipping it open slightly.

"What are you two doing outside of Bucky's room?" Steve said softly, placing his hands on his hips.

"I wanted to wake up the lovebirds, but Big Bird here stopped me," Tony said, slightly annoyed.

"Oh, Raelynn's still here?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, she's still here," Raelynn opened the door fully and stepped into the hall. She shot an unabashed wink at Sam and Steve, who took a sudden interest in the ceiling. Tony gave her an approving half smile and an exaggerated bow as she passed him.

"Happy New Year, by the way," she tossed over her shoulder as she ventured to the kitchen.

Natasha was seated at the table furiously tapping away on a tablet. She spoke without looking up. "Well, good morning. I guess you started the year off with a bang, huh?" Rae blushed heavily as she stood in the kitchen awkwardly. Natasha laughed gently. "I'm joking. Coffee?"

"Coffee would be splendid," Raelynn joined her at the table while she poured a cup and handed it to her. She watched her tap away at her tablet.

"So, I'm guessing that Bucky finally told you about his… arm situation, didn't he?"

"Yes, he did."

"And?"

"And, I think it's actually kind of cool. And he's useful; he can open things for me if I can't." Natasha snorted as she finally laid the tablet onto the table. "But, seriously, it doesn't overwhelm me all that much. It's a little intimidating, yes, but I accept it."

"He told you about the Winter Soldier as well?"

"Mhm. While that bit is a little bit more difficult to process, I've seen the guilt and shame that he weighs himself down with over his past. He was captured, brainwashed and held against his will, he's a victim of circumstance. I just want to help him realize that it's possible for him to forgive himself." Raelynn stared down at the cup as she poured sugar into the coffee.

"You love him, don't you?"

"Yes, I do. You're very observant."

Natasha laughed quietly. "It's my job to be. Oh, speak of the devil…" Her eyes drifted to the doorway and Raelynn followed her gaze. James stood in the doorway, a pair of sweatpants hanging low on his hips, his chest bare. _Oh sweet Jesus, no…_

He placed a kiss on Raelynn's temple before shuffling over to the coffeepot.

"I was just telling Raelynn here about the fun times we've had together in the past. You remember when you threw me into that van. Fun!"

"You electrocuted me."

"Yes, but after you threw me into the van."

"You almost shot me in the eye and then tried to rip my head off." Natasha pulled her shirt down her shoulder and revealed a quarter sized scar. "You actually did shoot me." She pulled up her shirt, exposing another scar on her abdomen.

"So, we're even then?"

"Yeah, we're even, Barnes." She punched his shoulder gently before she gathered her tablet and cup from the table. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go find Rogers. Try to keep it PG, you guys, alright?" She winked at Raelynn and she immediately blushed and looked down at her coffee. James smirked at her expression as he sat down across from her.

"I have one word for you: Netflix."

"…Okay. What about it?"

"I propose that we sit on the couch and watch Netflix all day. Have you heard of this thing? It's magical, Steve and I once got lost in it for hours. The 21st century really is incredible." He slid his hands across the surface of the table, wiggling his fingers until Raelynn linked her hands through his.

"Sounds like a plan, sailor," she answered and James' face erupted in delight. "Oh, wait! Boots! I need to feed Boots!" She jumped up from her chair, dropping his hands. She gazed down at his shirt that she was adorned with._ I also can't walk around wearing this all day, can I?_ "Also, I should change clothes."

"I don't mind you wearing that. You look good wearing my shirt." He looked her up and down slowly, biting his lip gently and she immediately flushed. _Jesus Christ, I wish he'd stop doing that._

"I think it's a tad bit obscene for me to walk around in nothing but your shirt, James." She tried to keep her voice even while his eyes continued to look her up and down.

He threw his hands up in defeat. "Okay, okay, fine. Your apartment first, and then unnecessary, mind numbing hours of television."

x x x

As soon as Bucky and Raelynn stepped into her apartment, they were greeted by a shrill wail.

"I know Boots, I am so sorry," Raelynn promptly entered the kitchen and set about to dishing out the kitten's food.

Boots padded her way over to Bucky, demanding to be picked up. The tiny feline immediately climbed onto his shoulder (the left one, to be exact) and made herself quite comfortable. Bucky entered the kitchen with her perched on his shoulder, purring contentedly.

"That's precious," Raelynn cooed as she watched Bucky pet Boots.

He gazed at the cat. "You know, Steve suggested that I get a pet, but I wasn't sure that I could take care of anything. I could barely take care of myself, after we got rid of Hydra." He smiled serenely as Boots continued to make herself comfortable on his shoulder.

Raelynn plucked the kitten from his shoulder—amid howls of protest from, and placed her in front of her bowl. She squeezed Bucky's left hand tightly. "You never know until you try, James."

He sighed contentedly as he tucked his face into her neck. "I know. I'm trying, I really am." He placed a kiss to Raelynn's palm. "I have another proposal."

"And that would be?"

"You should stay over again tonight."

"Why James Barnes, are you trying to make a move on me?" She feigned astonishment.

He leaned against the fridge and slipped his thumbs into his pockets. "Well, yeah, of course I am." He watched her as she laughed energetically. "Seriously though, it's nice to have you there to wake up next to in the morning." He grabbed a lock of her hair that had slipped free and she smiled at him.

"Okay. I'll be right back." She pecked his cheek before she departed from the kitchen. Bucky made himself comfortable on the couch, Boots happily making herself at home on his lap.

"Alright, I'm ready," Raelynn said as she returned from her room.

"You look amazing."

She snorted, staring at him dubiously. "You dork, I'm wearing an oversized sweater and yoga pants."

"And you look amazing."

"Thanks Buchanan." She giggled, pulling him off the couch and towards the door. Bucky groaned loudly. "Seriously, that's not fair; you teasing me about my middle name and I don't even know yours."

"It's Mihaela."

He groaned again. "I can't make fun of that, it's not as dorky as mine."

She giggled again as she looped her arm through his. "You'll find something to tease me about, I'm sure of it."

x x x

"Wow. I had no idea that you were such a Star Trek nerd." She had forced Bucky to watch the entire first season of Star Trek with her, mouthing along with the dialogue.

"Shut up!" Raelynn swatted his arm. "No, I think it's cute. My adorable little nerd." He ducked as she tossed a pillow at his head. "Don't make me hurt you, Barnes."

He chuckled. "I'd like to see you try."

She grabbed another pillow from the couch and whacked the side of his head.

"Ow!" He shot her a phony wounded look and she shrugged. "I told you."

"You're gonna regret that." He wrapped his arm around her waist and flattened her against the couch as she squealed in protest. "I surrender!"

He shook his head. "Uh-uh, you're not getting out of this." He raised both of her arms above her head, pinning them against the couch. She stared up at him, still giggling quietly.

Bucky captured her mouth teasingly at first, nipping at her bottom lip and then passionately as she responded to him. She tugged at his shirt impatiently and he laughed as he helped her tug off the offending item, pulling off her shirt in response. He dragged her onto his lap, sighing quietly as she pressed her lips across his chest. He tangled his hands in her hair and pulled her back up to his lips. "You're mine," she murmured to her in a low voice, and he smirked as she shivered slightly in response.

There was an abrupt noise and when both Bucky and Raelynn looked up, the spotted Natasha and Steve standing in the living room. Raelynn let out a squeak and covered herself, blushing furiously.

"Well, this is compromising." Natasha quipped as Steve looked fiddled with a button on his shirt awkwardly.

"Well, hey," Bucky said coolly as he pulled on his shirt. "Welcome back." He heard Raelynn giggle beside him, which she quickly stifled with her hand.

"Look at you two, making out on the couch like horny teenagers." Natasha plopped onto the couch next to Raelynn, handing Raelynn her shirt. "Thanks," she mumbled quietly, still laughing. Bucky caught a pointed look that Natasha shot at Steve and Steve subsequently cleared his throat.

"Hey, Buck, I need to talk to you about something." He nodded and followed Steve into his room.

"I know, I know, no girls in the house when the adults are away. I'm sorry," he said, chuckling lightly, and Steve's expression remained serious, making Bucky's stomach turn. _Oh, shit… _Steve let out a breath and tugged his hand through his hair, all while avoiding Bucky's eyes. He was beginning to get impatient. "What? What is it? Tell me, Steve!"

"Hydra's back."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

**A/N: So, this chapter was kind of sad to write… I feel a bit like Steven Moffat, making my characters go through pain and heartbreak *evil grin* Anyway, I hope it's not too terrible, I've been having struggles writer's block *sigh*… As usual, reviews are welcomed! Thanks, beautiful people! :)**

With only three words, Bucky's world came crashing down around him. He felt that he was drowning, being swept miles away by his terror. _No, it's not true, it can't be true. I'm just having another bad dream. It's just another nightmare. I need to wake up… James, wake up!_

Subconsciously, he was aware of someone screaming in the distance. _Who was that? Did they find out that that their life is ruined as well? _Finally, he breached the surface of reality, fighting his way through the chaos of his mind. He realized that it was in fact, his screams that he heard echoing through the building as he cowered on the floor in fear. Both Steve and Raelynn were on the floor as well, trying to help him, tears and distress painted her face.

Then everything went silent.

x x x

He was aware of the fact that there was someone in the room beside him before he fully opened his eyes. He turned his head slightly and found that Raelynn's head was resting on the crook of her arm, sleeping peacefully. He smiled as he took in her red curls spread in disarray around her head. Her hand was stretched out as if she had fallen asleep clutching his.

"Hey sleepyhead. Lynnie, wake up," he placed a gentle kiss against her temple and she stirred.

"James?" She blinked up at him as she slowly slipped out of her drowsy haze. He felt a stab of guilt as she stared at him with her tear stained face. "Oh my god! James, are you okay? You were out for a really long time." Bucky looked over at the clock and saw that it was midnight. "I slept for nine hours?"

She looked away uneasily. "Well, actually, no. You've been out for more than thirty hours."

"Oh." He cleared his throat. She touched his hand gently. "Are you okay? I mean, I know that's a stupid question, but…" she trailed off.

"I'm okay right now, I guess. I'm still in shock I think." Raelynn joined him on the bed and cautiously wrapped her arm around him. Bucky pulled her into his side and she let out a sigh.

"Steve told me what happened. I'm sorry. I wish that there was something that I could do to help."

"You're already doing it." He buried his face in her skin and inhaled slowly. He stayed like that, peacefully breathing in her scent as she ran her fingers through his hair. "I can't escape, can I? I was stupid to think that I was actually able to start over." He said it quietly; his voice barely above a whisper.

Raelynn grasped his face in her hands and tugged it up to meet hers. "James, stop it."

"Maybe… Maybe I'm not meant to start over. Maybe I'm not meant to be happy. Maybe I'm not meant to find my way back this time." He said it more to himself than Raelynn.

"How dare you say that, James? Don't you ever say anything like that again." He finally met her gaze and he realized that she was crying. He felt another stab of guilt. _Shit_. "You can't give up. You can't run away; once you start running, they'll never let you stop."

He stared at her in awe. He was taken back at just how much he had fallen in love with her in such a short time. It amazed him how dedicated she was to plunging herself into the darkness to bring him back into the light. _I have to do whatever it takes to protect her._ He clutched her shoulders and looked at her deeply.

"I promise you that no matter what happens, I will always find my way back to you, Raelynn. Always."

She smiled as she wiped away a tear. "Damn right, you bastard."

"I'm sorry. I regret scaring you, Lynnie."

"I don't like seeing people giving up on their selves. People don't realize just how strong they can be." She paused, breaking his gaze. "After my parents died, I got really low. I was alone, just some weird Romanian kid with an accent and frizzy hair and no one to turn to. I thought that giving up was the better option." She sighed heavily before she continued. "I tried to end things, James. But somehow, I was alive somehow. I'm not overtly religious, but I think that means something. I'm here for a reason and so are you. I swore to myself that I would dedicate myself to helping others find their strengths."

Bucky pulled her onto his chest, burying his face into her hair. "You know that you're amazing, right?"

She snorted. "I'm well aware of this James."

He lay with her on his chest, inhaling her shampoo, listening to her breathing gradually slow until she was sound asleep. He stared up at the ceiling for what felt like centuries, lost in his own thoughts. From the corner of his eye, he noticed sunlight beginning to stream through his blinds. Raelynn shifted next to him and he smiled as she murmured his name softly. He watched her for a while, vowing to do what it took to protect her.

He slipped out of bed, careful not to disturb her and glanced at the clock on the bedside table. 7:20 am. Good, Steve will be getting back from his run soon.

Bucky slipped out of his room and headed down the hall, catching Steve as he entered the living room.

"Hey, Steve, I need to talk to you for a minute."

"What's up, Bucky?"

"I'm in. I want to help you take down Hydra again." Steve started to protest but Bucky continued. "But this time, it's different. There's a chance that Raelynn could be in danger, and it's safe to say that she's never dealt with anything like this before. I have to make sure that she's protected."

Steve nodded in agreement. "Of course, Bucky. Last night Natasha brought that up to me and she suggested that she take Raelynn underground to one of her safehouses for a little while; just to make sure that she's out of harm's way."

"When?"

"The sooner the better, as a precaution. Natasha is pretty sure from the intel she has that what's left of Hydra is in no shape to devise an attack. She think that they're still re-grouping, raising their numbers; you know the whole 'cut off one head, two more shall take its place' thing."

Bucky rolled his eyes, before he nodded in response. He leaned against the wall and stared down Steve for a second. "You know that you don't have to do this right? Fight Hydra. I can do it myself."

"The hell I don't. Bucky, you know I'm with you 'til the end of the line."

"You're always going to be that skinny kid that's too dumb to run away from a fight, aren't you?" Steve and Bucky both laughed tensely. "So, what's the intel that Natasha has?"

x x x

Raelynn was immediately aware that the bed was empty as she blinked the sleep away from her eyes.

A throaty voice came from the door and she almost screamed.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty." Rae looked up to find Natasha casually leaning against the doorjamb, arms crossed.

"Wha—?"

"We're going on a little adventure, you and me." She answered simply.

"What?" Rae repeated, even more confused. "You and I, we're going on the run. Orders of Cap and Tin Man. I mean, James. Sorry, Tony calls him that all the time and it caught on."

Rae smiled a bit through her confusion. "No judging. But, still I'm confused. Why, Natasha?"

She sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "James is adamant that you're safe, since he's decided to help Rogers take down Hydra again. If you ask me, he's being a little overprotective. There are only a few known Hydra operatives that slipped through our grasp, so it should be relatively easy to stop them before they do anything drastic." She explained and Rae nodded vigorously.

"But I think it's cute that James is being overprotective. Everyone should have someone that they're willing to put first." Natasha added quietly, as she stared out of the window.

She hopped off of the bed and pulled Rae with her. "Come on, let's go get you ready to go on the run."

x x x

Rae glanced at Natasha as she tried to shoo Boots off of the suitcase that she was tossing items into. After the cat hissed at her for the third time, her Natasha's nostrils flared and she threw her hands on her hips in frustration. "Fucking cat."

"So, since I'm doing the whole underground thing, what am I going to do about work? What about school? I can't just disappear without notice."

"Don't worry; I took care of both of those." She answered vaguely.

"What does that mean? You didn't kill anyone, did you?"

"What? No! I promise. I am capable of normal human interaction, you know."

Raelynn passed her a bag of toiletries and shrugged. "Just making sure."

"Speaking of normal human interaction, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Nat."

She cleared her throat and sat on the edge of the bed, Boots climbing onto her lap. "What's sex with James like? It seems like it would be very interesting."

Raelynn knocked over a pile of socks that she'd been sorting through. "W-what?!"

"Just wondering. Girl talk, you know." She paused as she absentmindedly stroked Boots. "Does he use the arm… you know?" She made a face, arching one of her eyebrows and smirking slightly and Raelynn understood exactly what she meant.

_Oh, god. _"I, uh… Well, he… uhhh…" she trailed off, mumbling incoherently as she stared at the ceiling. "Actually, we haven't, you know, had sex yet." Her voice got higher as she spoke and Natasha's face exploded in surprise.

"Oh. The arm thing freaks you out?"

"No, it freaks him out. He's afraid that he'll break me or something. But I'm not that fragile," she joined Natasha on the bed.

Natasha glanced at her. "I'm pretty sure that he know that, but like Steve, he blames himself for what he can't control. He just wants to protect the few things in the world that matter to him." Natasha gently touched Raelynn's shoulder. "He'll have help, don't worry." She gave Raelynn the warmest smile that she'd ever seen cross her face, and she felt significantly better.

There was a hushed knock on the front door and Natasha jumped from the bed. "That's Steve and James; he wanted to say goodbye, before we leave."

Raelynn nodded as she headed off towards the front door. She focused on finishing the task of shoving clothes into her bag.

"Lynnie," James leaned against the doorframe, his arms crossed tightly across his chest. After a bit of effort, Raelynn tore her eyes from his biceps and finally made eye contact. _Now really isn't the time for me to be distracted by this boy's beauty_, she admonished herself. _These are serious times._

"Howdy." She tucked a pair of jeans into her bag and zipped it up. James closed the distance between them, taking her into his arms. She tucked her face into his chest and he closed his arms around her tightly.

"What about Boots?" She mumbled into his shirt.

"What?"

"Boots, my cat. I can't just leave her here all alone, she needs me. What's gonna happen to her?"

He laughed and the sound rumbled through his chest. "Really? There's a terrorist organization on the rise that your boyfriend and his best friend are going off to take them out and you're worried about Boots?" He kissed the top of her head.

"Well, yeah, there's no point in sitting around worrying about you. You're a grown ass man with a metal arm, you'll be fine." She was only partially telling a lie. She was trying to keep herself from freaking out about everything, so she diverted her attention on her cat instead. She threw her arms around James' neck. "Oh, I know! I'll drop her off at my neighbor's house."

"Good idea."

Raelynn sighed as James wrapped his arms tighter around her waist. _It's not fair. Why can't we just stay like this forever? It's not fair that we're being pulled apart when we've just found each other._

Raelynn unknowingly let out a frustrated sigh. James pulled back and gazed at her. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just that life isn't fair," she laughed dryly. "I mean, I've always known that life isn't fair, that it's supposed to hurt and sometimes we fall down. But sometimes, I'm hyperaware of the shitty things we have to go through."

"Wow, that's the most negative thing that I've heard come out of your mouth."

"Sometimes, even optimists get fed up with the chaos of the world James." She smiled up at him and he smoothed her hair back, kissing the tip of her nose softly.

"We should leave now beautiful. Come on." He seized her bag from the bed and grabbed Boots, passing her off to Raelynn.

After delivering the kitten to her neighbor, much to the confusion of the cat, Raelynn followed the Natasha, James and Steve out of the apartment building.

James walked Raelynn to the door of Natasha's car, tossing her bag into the backseat. He grabbed her wrist before she slipped through the passenger's side door. "Hey, not matter what happens, I'll find my way back to you. Okay?"

Raelynn traced her fingers against his jawline and, smiling wistfully. "Damn, right sailor." She pecked his cheek before she got into the car. Natasha rolled down the window and leaned over the center console toward James.

"I'll take care of her, Barnes."

"Don't turn my girlfriend into a superspy. I don't need her trying to snap my neck with her thighs."

"Who knows, maybe you'll like it." Natasha winked and Raelynn snorted loudly. She wiggled her fingers at James before Natasha sped off from the curb. She twisted in her seat, staring at James until his form receded from view. _Well, this is going to be interesting for our relationship, _she thought sighing heavily.

x x x

Bucky stared after Natasha's car long after it was gone. He was hoping that this was just some long, very specific dream that he had yet to wake up from, but when Steve joined his side he knew that it was real life.

Steve laid his hand on Bucky's shoulder. "You could have went with her, you know."

"Yeah, I know, but this is something that I have to do to keep my sanity. What's left of it, anyway. Getting rid of Hydra for good will hopefully let me be able to move on. Raelynn deserves someone that isn't going to fall apart easily. I want my life back Steve."

Steve nodded vigorously, identifying with everything that he had said. "Then let's go get it back."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

**A/N: Hey you guyssss! Sorry it took me awhile, I had wrote this chapter about a month ago, but I decided to go back and I ended up changing almost everything because it was terrible… it's still fairly lame, but a wee bit better lol. Thanks for reading :)**

2 Weeks Later

"You need to keep your guard up, Raelynn. You always drop your guard when you throw a right hook." Raelynn groaned as she reminded herself once again to keep her guard high.

"Don't be discouraged; you're a natural at kicking ass. Just remember to guard that gorgeous face."

For the past two weeks, Natasha had been teaching Raelynn how to fight, after Raelynn had requested learning. She hoped that it would distract her and keep her mind busy from the fact that she hadn't heard from James in two weeks. She had caught on quickly, to Natasha's delight, although sparring with Natasha was absolutely terrifying.

Raelynn barely blocked a lethal left hook from Natasha and countered with a body shot, ducking low to avoid Natasha's equally lethal leg. While fighting, just with everything that she did, she was calculating and precise, which made her very dangerous and virtually impossible to beat.

She racked her brain quickly to remember the list of weak spots on the human body that Natash had pointed out to her. Raelynn threw a strike that she knew that Natasha would easily block and when she returned with a strike of her own, Raelynn used her weight against her, twisting her arm behind her back, making sure not to put too much pressure on it. Natasha smiled wildly at Raelynn. "Good! Really good! You're getting better; that's the first time that you've benn able to get the drop on me. Clint can't even do that." She told her proudly.

Raelynn wiped sweat from her brow, while Natasha sipped from her water bottle, looking flawless as usual, barely even sweating. _How does she not look like melted garbage right now?_

She half heartedly helped Natasha push the couch back into the center of the room and Natasha settled herself on it, a bag of pretzels clutched in her in her hand.

"I think I'm going to take a nap," Raelynn told Natasha as she shoved a handful of pretzels into her face. She nodded and Raelynn jogged upstairs to her room, faceplanting onto her bed, not even bothering to shut the door behind her.

Falling asleep was difficult enough with the sore patch of skin on her side thanks to Natasha, but staying asleep was even more of a challenge. Disgruntled, she flipped onto her back and stared at the ceiling in annoyance. She gazed up at the ceiling, trying to find patterns in the tile to keep her mind occupied. Hiding from a terrorist organization was exceedingly dull. According to Natasha's requirements, Raelynn wasn't allowed to leave the house or use her phone, which would have been fine except that in the rush of packing, she had neglected to pack a book. _I'm going to lose my goddamned mind._

"Hey," Natasha's quiet voice came from the doorway breaking Raelynn from the boredom induced catatonic state she was in.

"Howdy."

"So, I just spoke to James and Steve…" Raelynn bolted upright so fast that her head spun. She tried her best to keep her voice even keeled as she replied.

"Yes, and?"

"Well, it looks like the intel I received was false. It looks as if Hydra is already back, but we can't get a lock on just where it is that they're operating from." She paused a bit before continuing. "And it looks as if they want to reboot the Winter Soldier program. So…" she didn't even bother to finish her sentence.

Raelynn knew exactly what that meant, but she asked anyway since she couldn't bare the heavy silence in the room. "Does that mean that they're going to use James again?" Natasha nodded solemnly and Raelynn flattened herself against the bed again.

"That's great, there's strong possibility that my boyfriend is going to be kidnapped, brainwashed and used to execute people and I'm locked away in some random house in upstate New York. And to add insult to injury, there's no goddamn television." She shoved her face into her pillow forcefully. Natasha joined her on the bed and gave her a small, reassuring pat on the back.

"He'll be fine, Raelynn. Steve isn't going to let anything happen to him, and James is determined to come back to you."

"Rae."

"What?"

"Call me Rae. Only my mother called me Raelynn. Well, her and James when he's annoyed with me."

Natasha smiled. "Alright. But as I was saying, James is going to be fine. I'm positive."

"I'm sure that he'll be fine as well." She turned onto her back once again. "I miss him though. It's the not knowing part that kills me. I miss his cold metal arm and the way that he swears in Russian sometimes." Natasha chuckled lightly.

"Can I ask you something Natasha?"

"Call me Nat. And of course you can."

"Are you and Clint a couple? I've asked James, but all he told me is that it's complicated."

She smiled wistfully as she tucked her wavy hair into a bun. "Well, he's not wrong. Clint and I have an understanding. We see something in each other that no one else does, or wants to."

"Well, you guys are adorable; whatever the hell it is you two are.

"Thanks Rae. I think the same thing of you and James. I'm really glad that he finally found someone that makes him smile again."

"I'm happy to be that person for him. Although, I'm really pissed at him for cutting his hair, I miss playing with it."

"Yeah, I always wanted to braid it, but I was too scared to ask." Natasha replied giggling. There was an incessant beeping from Natasha's pocket suddenly, interrupting their conversation. She pulled a small phone from her pocket and answered it in a low voice, slipping out of the room into the hall. Raelynn strained to catch bits of the conversation.

Just as quickly as she left the room, she returned her face swathed in worry. "That was Director Fury. He told me that there's an emergency at HQ and that he needs me, urgently."

"Excuse me? Wait, wait, wait, you can't just leave me here all the fuck alone!"

"I'm sorry Rae, but this is Fury that needs me. It's… important. You'll be fine, after we restarted SHIELD; we got rid of all of our safehouses. Nobody knows about this place, so you'll be fine. Steve and James are positive that they're not after you, but James just wanted to keep you safe, just in case."

"Fine. Just go take care of your important thing. I'll be fine." Raelynn tucked her face into her pillow again.

"I'll be back, I promise." Raelynn simply grunted and Natasha backed out of the room leaving her in stillness.

_I guess I'll go back to staring at the ceiling again until Nat gets back._

After an entire hour of staring at nothing, Raelynn had fallen asleep. She jerked awake when she heard a thud outside of the house. _I guess Natasha's home. _She padded from her room into the hall to greet Nat when she heard a crashing sound, as if someone had dropped something._ Natasha never drops anything..._ Then it hit her—the sound was the crash of a broken window.

"Black Widow is clear. Check the upstairs." Footsteps crunched over the broken glass in the living room and came closer to the stairwell. _Shit, shit, shit. _Raelynn instinctively dashed back into her room slipping the door shut as quietly as she could muster. She slipped into the closet adjacent to the door, forcing herself to control her breathing.

The door of her room creaked open slowly and heavy footsteps made their way closer to the closet as Raelynn steeled her nerves as the doorknob of the closet twisted. Throwing her weight against the door, she barreled into the man clad in a tactical uniform on the other side. A second man entered the room, blocking her escape. He stretched out his hands, reaching for her, but Raelynn ducked low and wrapped her arms around her waist and slammed him into the wall.

Her body carried her to an empty spare bedroom at the end of the hall and she hurled herself throw the window, rolling when she hit the ground to avoid injury, ignoring the searing pain as the glass ripped at her skin.

_Get up, run_. She pushed herself to her feet and forced her legs to carry her as fast as she could away from the house.

There was a loud cracking sound and Raelynn idly wondered in the back of her mind what it was when she felt it; a white hot pain in her right side. She stumbled behind a tree, pressing her hand to her shoulder. When she pulled it away it was covered in her blood. Her head began to spin, her mind starting to go dark at the edges. Still, she forced herself to control her breathing and stay calm. _They're going to have to do worse than that._

Suddenly, a pair of gloved hands grabbed her roughly, wrenching her out into the open. Raelynn shoved her elbow into her assailants ribcage as hard as she could, satisfied when she heard a sickening crack and a low groan. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, she flung her legs out from under her, pulling him down to the ground with her.

There was another pain coursing through her body, this time it was electric. She lost control if her body, convulsing violently. She struggled to focus on the voices close her.

"Who the fuck shot her? The orders were to bring her in, unharmed."

"Did you see how she took Smith out? How else were we going to bring her down? Shit, is she the Widow's sister or something?"

"Supposedly, she's the Soldier's girlfriend. Dose her before she causes anymore trouble."

While they made their way over to her, she played possum, discreetly slipping the stun gun electrodes out of her back, As a masked man knelt over her pulling out a small syringe, she wrapped her legs around his neck, clamping her thighs down tightly. She jabbed the electrodes into the base of his neck, electrocuting him as well.

Raelynn screamed as the needle of the syringe plunged into her neck. Reality began to fade away as she lost consciousness and the last image that flashed through her mind was raking her fingers through James hair as he was sound asleep on her chest.

Then there was nothing.


End file.
